About the author

Boris Fyodorovich KORNEV (born on 5th February, 1950 in Leningrad) is a Russian writer and novelist, a well-known expert in the field of crisis and uncertainty management. He is a member of the All-Russian public organization “The Union of Writers of Russia”, a member of the editorial board of the almanac “Northern Flowers”.

Biography

Born in a family of a serviceman. His father came from peasants, as commander of the paratroops, he participated in all the wars led by the Soviet Union from 1939 to 1945, he was a partisan of the Leningrad region, was awarded with orders and medals, a disabled World War II. His mother was born in Leningrad and worked as a midwife in a maternity hospital of Kirov region all her life, she was a Veteran of Labour.

Kornev Boris Fyodorovich graduated from the Leningrad State University (LSU) (Chemistry, Economics and Psychology Faculties). In 1972 he was allocated to work in the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. As head of the hydrochemical laboratory, he participated in expeditions in the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. After completing postgraduate studies at the LSU with a degree in chemical physics, he defended his thesis. He has worked in senior positions in scientific, financial and political organizations of Leningrad, St.Petersburg and Moscow. In 1990 he created the first joint-stock company in the country.

For over twenty years Boris Kornev was involved in the implementation of the crisis processes in various cities of Russia and Europe. He is a member of the International Association of Management Consulting. From 2004 he has been chairman of the St. Petersburg Institute of Management Consulting .

Characteristics of Work

K. started writing in the upper school. At the time many of his classmates from the French school were fond of the poetry of Villon, Corneille, Apollinaire, philosophical treatises of Françis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, existentialists Sartre and Heidegger. That was the beginning of his “first love” to the humanities. Later on there was a mixture of everything: purely literary works, research papers in chemistry and physics, then political articles in various brochures of Lenizdat and again research ones, only this time in economics and psychology. Gradually his life experience was accumulating and his mind was broadening. Crisis problem solving in banks and publishing houses, in industrial plants of various specializations and in different countries quickly teach the tricks of the “life chemistry”. From the scientific works K. gradually moved to non-fiction.  In 2005, the publishing house “Ostrov” released brochures “From Formation to Decay” ( Russian political parties) , “Tales for Businessmen” (Notes of  a Crisis Confidential Consultant) , and in 2009 a well-known among entrepreneurs and managers book “To Wait Immediately” (Crisis Project — Relationship and Changing Expectations Management)  was published, which was an essay, the author’s view on the psychological problem of the crisis in the business. In 2010 his novel “Colour Blind”(Not All Eyes Can See the Enemy)  was published. It is based on the fate of the author’s father during the war. K. truthfully depicts the lives of people in the occupation in the territory of the Leningrad region. The author shows psychologically finely the main character’s experiences in choosing the way in difficult situations.

Yury Metelev writes, “In his novel “Colour Blind” the author describes the life of a young Soviet officer who found himself in a border area of one of the Baltic republics by a twist of fate in the first days of the Great Patriotic war. With his eyes we can see everything that his character has experienced: from the joy of a man who has overcome the battle with a strong and insolent enemy to the bitter captivity, fear and humiliation… The writer has revealed the true image of the main character, without stereotypes but from the “deep inside”. Psychoanalysis and good, unbiased knowledge of the history of the Second World War, as well as professional knowledge of the word help K. to reach that noble goal.”

In 2011 his novel “The Real Four” was published. This book is about school friend of the same generation as the author.  Alexey Akhmatov writes, “The story is woven from the flesh and bones of the author… There is no single rotation or spectacular story, staged just for the sake of attracting attention in it. It doesn’t mean there are no exaggerations or author notions in it. Without them there are no works of art. We can see an element of random “planned meetings”, which romance philology is rich with. The real four are a bureaucrat, a dissident, a crime boss and a KGB officer. Perhaps, the main feature of the story,” Akhmatov says, “is the author’s love to all four characters. That is almost unbelievable as they all express extremely opposing views. A responsible employee of the district committee of the Communist Party would seem to have nothing in common with a professional dissident? But bureaucrat Bogdanov, sacrificing his career, releases his former school friend and dissident Spivak running to the American Embassy on forged documents. And how lovingly the author describes Spivak, whose views are clearly strange to him… This is a great art — not to take anyone’s side, while staying aside in the narrative, but not being outside at the same time”.

For the story “The Real Four” KORNEV was awarded a literary prize named after N.S.Tikhonov in April 2013 by St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Writers Union.

In late 2012 publishing house “Historical Illustration” published a new book by K. – “Tandem”. The author addresses the alarming issue of personality and the inevitable choice. This time K. shows the fate of a man in a difficult time of the end of perestroika, the collapse of the country and the dashing 90-s. “And it smelled of a bad wind from the pages of that era, perhaps, a great era, or at least majestic,” A.Bakulin writes. “This corruptly greatness has been depicted masterfully in the novel. He hasn’t just captured the spirit of the time (although of course we can feel it on the pages of “Tandem” vividly), but the whole panorama is deployed, which could take another author up to two good volumes. The action is gracefully flitting through the years and space, from the spectacular sunsets of the Soviets, to the perestroika and further on; the action moves from Russia to France, the Netherlands, even to Brazil… We manage to visit Abkhazia – in its bloodiest days, —  and the cheerful districts of Amsterdam and the Russian Federation Presidential Administration…”

In 2015, his psychological essays “Psyche’s Dance” is being published – a historical novel of two great French poets Charles Baudelaire and François Villon’s meeting through the centuries. They are the people of different epochs and different views of life. But they are somehow vaguely similar and, as noted in his review “The Call of Hearts in the Destiny Labyrinths”  by S.Olkhovetsky, are subject to the same rhythm of dance – the rhythm set by Psyche.

“Sometimes it happens,” B.Kornev writes, “ that two people in a spiritual crisis go through their life towards each other, without knowing it. They meet. There is a similarity of fate, similarity of characters that removes the pressure of life’s contradictions… Gradually there is a wonderful sense of trust. The soul is awakened… Their mind is gradually, with anguish, beginning to dampen depression, realizing its one-sidedness. Quite another feeling of festering opposites comes to the surface. It is already different from the division into black and white…”

K. also works in the genre of short fiction. His essays and stories have been published: in the almanac of the St. Petersburg branch of the Union of Writers of Russia “Nevsky Publicist” (2011), in the collectionEvidence of Time”, 2nd edition (2012), in the renewed 190 years later almanac “Northern Flowers” by A.Delvig, In the collection of essays “Game of Tetris”. In late 2013 his new book “Providence Bay” was published. It includes the story “One for all…” about patriotism and the fate of a 14-year old Vlasovite and also the stories written in the last five years, some of them served as the basis for creating “Colour Blind”, “The Real Four” and “Tandem”. On the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War B.F.Kornev was awarded literary prize “Heirs of the Victory” for his stories “One for All…” and “Colour Blind”.

Kornev’s prose — whether it is an essay, a story or a novel — has always got a controversial plot, external or internal. His language is concise and colorful. Kornev’s style is recognizable thanks to the great strength of the narrative. His books have been translated into English, Spanish, French and German.

Bibliography

  • “From formation to decay” (Russian political parties) – ISBN 5-94500-040-1, St.P.: Ostrov, 2005.-75 p.
  • “Tales for businessmen” (Notes of a crisis confidential consultant) – ISBN 5-94500-041-8, St.P.: 2006.-75 p.
  • Popular science publication “To wait immediately” (Crisis project — relationship and changing expectations management) – ISBN 5-89566-083-6, St.P.: Historical Illustration, 2009.-128 p.
  • story “Colour Blind” (Not all eyes can see the enemy) – ISBN 978-5-89566-089-8, St.P.: Historical Illustration, 2010.-256 p.
  • novel “The real four” – ISBN 978-5-905059-07-0, St.P.: Artek, 2011.-96 p.
  • novel: “Tandem” – ISBN 978-5-89566-119-2, St.P.: Historical Illustration, 2012.-240 p.
  • collection “Providence Bay” – ISBN 978-5-89566-135-2, St.P.: Historical Illustration, 2013.-160 p., 2nd revised ed. – ISBN 978-5-89566-144-4, St.P.: Historical Illustration, 2015.-168 p.
  • novel “Psyche’s dance” – ISBN 5-89566-153-6, St.P.: Historical Illustration, 2015.-104 p.

Reviews

Akhmatov A. The real four.//Sphinx.2012, No.33.

Metelev Yu. Not all eyes can see the enemy.// Rog Boreya, 2012, No.47.

Andrushkin A. “Northern Flowers” — Breakthrough to light.//Literaturnaya Gazeta/2013, No.2 (39).

Bakulin A. – “In tandem with your own shadow”. //Istoki.2014, No.7/8.

Bakulin A. “Wheel of Samsara in the Russian vast”// Attachment to Collection “Providence Bay”, 2nd revised ed. 2015.

Alekseyev V. – “Let us entrust ourselves to Providence”. (Remettons-nous a la Providence” French ed. « Baie de Providence»).Ignatieva E.Yu. « New book of Boris Kornev » Review of the book « Providence Bay » Site of the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Writers Union 01.10.2015. http://dompisatel.ru/?tag=obzori_kritika

Olkhovetsky S. “The call of hearts in the destiny labyrinths”. Review of the novel “Psyche’s dance”. 13.10.2015. Site of the St.Petersburg branch of the Russian Writers Union. 01.10.2015. http://dompisatel.ru/?tag=obzori_kritika

Bogdanova O.V. -head compiling editor. “Literary Saint Petersburg. XX century.: encyclopedic dictionary: in 3 vol. – St.P., 2015. – V2.- 2nd ed., revised and updated – 768 p. ISBN 978-5-8465-1388-4, ISBN 978-5-8465-1390-7.